Spirit AeroSystems announced it has successfully delivered the fifth System Demonstration Test Article (SDTA) CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter fuselage for the U.S. Marine Corps from Spirit’s Wichita, Kan., facility. Major assembly on the fuselage for SDTA six, the final SDTA helicopter, is underway. Spirit is responsible for the assembly of the entire cockpit and cabin and delivering the complete fuselage to Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.

“The Spirit team is proud to support the CH-53K King Stallion program and is pleased to deliver the 5^th SDTA fuselage unit to Sikorsky,” said Krisstie Kondrotis, Spirit AeroSystems senior vice president of Defense programs. “This lightweight composite fuselage structure will support the Marine Corps requirement of much-needed additional heavy-lift capability. We look forward to being a major contributor to this program and delivering on our commitments for many years to come.”

Spirit is responsible for the composite cockpit and cabin structure with a separately attached tail section. The lightweight structures support the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter’s capability of conducting unrefueled missions carrying 27,000 pounds over 110 nautical miles in high/hot conditions, which is triple the load-carrying capacity of the current CH-53E Super Stallion.